partisan 1 of 2

partisan

2 of 2

noun

variants also partizan
1
2
3
as in sectarian
one who stubbornly or intolerantly adheres to his or her own opinions and prejudices she's too much of a political partisan to ever concede that the other side might have a valid point

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word partisan different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of partisan are adherent, disciple, and follower. While all these words mean "one who gives full loyalty and support to another," partisan suggests a zealous often prejudiced attachment.

partisans of the President

When could adherent be used to replace partisan?

The synonyms adherent and partisan are sometimes interchangeable, but adherent suggests a close and persistent attachment.

adherents to Marxism

When might disciple be a better fit than partisan?

While the synonyms disciple and partisan are close in meaning, disciple implies a devoted allegiance to the teachings of one chosen as a master.

disciples of Gandhi

When can follower be used instead of partisan?

Although the words follower and partisan have much in common, follower may apply to people who attach themselves either to the person or beliefs of another.

an evangelist and his followers

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of partisan
Adjective
In a fundraising email to supporters last week, Davids broached the threat that partisan gerrymandering could pose to her job security. Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025 An act of legislation created it, the Fed chairperson and other members of the board have to show up for congressional hearings, which turn into partisan grillings. Vipin Bharathan, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
For eight days, Dayton was awash in visitors, including journalists, partisans on one side or the other and chimpanzees. Randall Balmer, Twin Cities, 23 July 2025 Trump had officially nominated her for the position but was opposed by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Andy Kim, Democrats who questioned her qualifications and called her prosecutions partisan. Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 22 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for partisan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for partisan
Adjective
  • United’s decade-plus of footballing dysfunction owes a partial debt to hiring processes that can make sense in the moment, but leave head coaches overexposed.
    Carl Anka, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
  • According to scientists, a molecular dipole arises when a molecule has partial positive and partial negative charge regions, giving the molecule an overall polarity that points in a specific direction.
    Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • After the Great Black Migration in the 1920s, our city was one of the centers of the Ku Klux Klan’s revival as the strongest populist movement of the decade, claiming 5 million adherents, with 50,000 in Chicago alone.
    Jackson Potter, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
  • To adherents, Nakamoto is considered a hero who empowered individuals to take back control of money.
    Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Today’s moral crusaders assume an elementary cause-and-effect relationship between books and readers.
    Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Now, over three years later, the series is back to continue the adventures of the masked crusader.
    Christopher Rudolph, People.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The Iraqi prime minister at the time, Nuri al-Maliki, was a Shiite sectarian with close ties to Iran, and many of his fellow Shia thought he could be relied on to listen to Iran’s wishes and find a way to avoid clashing with an Iranian proxy militia.
    Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Both sides insist the other initiated the initial volley of gunfire that killed four agents and six sectarians.
    Joshua Alston, Variety, 12 Apr. 2023
Adjective
  • Trump has been hostile to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, and prioritizes fossil fuels for electricity.
    Sydney Lake, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter took it as a hostile act and approached Prescott, meeting face-to-face with him.
    Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • With 254,000 followers on Instagram, Bambi is well-loved by her online community—something that gives her owner joy.
    Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
  • The mother-daughter business, which boasts more than 17,000 Instagram followers, began in 2024 when Sara Janusik thought of starting a mobile coffee shop.
    Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 9 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • In October 2024, two Hamas militants opened fire on a popular boulevard in southern Tel Aviv, killing seven people.
    Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The October 7 attacks nearly two years ago were the most significant to date, with hundreds of militants crossing the border amid a barrage of nearly 5,000 projectiles.
    Amira El-Fekki‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Putin is also a strong nationalist.
    Kerry Brown, Time, 4 Sep. 2025
  • By the time that war in East Asia took hold, in 1937, China was a decade into its own civil war between the nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong’s communists.
    Meredith Oyen, The Conversation, 2 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Partisan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/partisan. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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